AUTHOR ARCHIVES

Tammy Flanagan

Tammy Flanagan has spent 30 years helping federal employees take charge of their retirement by understanding their benefits. She runs her own consulting business at www.tammyflanagan.com and provides individual counseling as well as online training for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, Plan Your Federal Retirement as well as the Federal Long Term Care insurance Program. She also serves as the senior benefits director for the National Institute of Transition Planning Inc., which conducts federal retirement planning workshops and seminars.

For more retirement planning help, tune in to "For Your Benefit," presented by the National Institute of Transition Planning Inc. live on Federal News Radio on Mondays at 10 a.m. ET on WFED AM 1500 in the Washington-metro area. Archived shows are available on NITPInc.com.

Results 111-120 of 573

What You Need to Know About Taxes

June 4, 2015 If you are planning to retire in the near future, there may be things that you don’t know you don’t know. You know? One of those things may be tax planning. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about taxes from friends and associates like Micah Shilanski and Bob Leins....

A Retirement Readiness Checklist

May 28, 2015 Last week’s column ended with a question: When is the best time to retire? In my seminars I describe it this way: It’s when you are financially and mentally ready for this change in your life -- with a little magic thrown in for good measure. The magic is when...

How to Know When It’s Time to Go

May 21, 2015 Last week’s column sparked a discussion on deciding when to retire. Some federal employees are eager and able to retire early, while others feel the need to keep working much longer. This discussion serves as a reminder that retirement planning is not like a Ron Popeil rotisserie oven--you can’t just...

The Difference Between a Supplement and Social Security

May 14, 2015 Those who have spent a long career in government and are covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System are eligible for a benefit known as the FERS Supplement. (I’ve written about the supplement in the past.) To get the supplement, you have to be younger than age 62 at retirement...

Not Exactly Getting Rich

May 7, 2015 Last week, I took a fresh look at the Windfall Elimination Provision, which affects the Social Security benefits calculation for those covered under the Civil Service Retirement System, because they did not have Social Security taxes withheld from their salaries. According to the Congressional Budget Office, as of this year,...

When is a Windfall not a Windfall?

April 30, 2015 What if the government got rid of the Windfall Elimination Provision? Well, it did in April for some retirees--but unfortunately not those covered under the Civil Service Retirement System. More on that in a bit. First, a little background. Congress created the WEP in 1983 as a way to level...

How About Some Good News?

April 23, 2015 In 1974, Rufus and Chaka Khan released "Tell Me Something Good," a catchy tune written by Stevie Wonder. It was one of those songs that made you turn up the volume and roll down the windows, so I’m using it as inspiration this week. With so much negative news about...

How to Prepare for a Retirement Storm

April 16, 2015 As you probably know by now, there are some serious threats to federal retirement benefits on the table this year in Congress. GovExec reports have been keeping you well apprised of these proposals. Here’s how National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association President Richard Thissen describes the situation: The House...

Don’t Mess With the G Fund

April 9, 2015 What is unique about the Thrift Savings Plan? Well, first of all, it’s a retirement savings plan specifically designed for federal employees and military service members. Another notable fact about the TSP is its very low administrative costs -- 29 cents per $1,000 invested per year. For some 401(k) plans,...

9 Questions (and Answers) for Federal Couples

April 2, 2015 A few weeks ago, my colleague Bob Leins and I conducted a webinar on the topic of retirement benefit issues for federal couples -- those in which one or both of the spouses are federal employees. The presentation led to lots of audience questions. This week, I thought I’d address...